'Caps tangle with 'Quakes at Buck Shaw

Santa Clara, CA – Vancouver Whitecaps FC will attempt to snap a two-match losing skid on Saturday at Buck Shaw Stadium when the club visits the San Jose Earthquakes.

After starting the season with back-to-back home wins, Vancouver has dropped successive 2-1 contests on the road, first losing at Houston before faltering at Chivas USA last weekend.

On Saturday the Whitecaps will finish up their three-game road trip, and will be hoping to head back home with at least one point from their travels.

"It's frustrating that we've ended up coming out of that with a negative scoreline," Vancouver head coach Martin Rennie said after the defeat to Chivas," because that's two weeks in a row where we certainly had a chance to win the game."

Despite taking no points from its two away contests this season, Vancouver midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker has still managed to find positives from the last two weeks.

"The important thing and the positive is, we're creating chances away from home, and we're playing well away from home," Reo-Coker said. "It could be a different situation if we're not playing well away from home and not creating chances."

San Jose is welcoming back a few key members of the team that captured the Supporters' Shield last term, and it should provide a boost to a 'Quakes team that has yet to really fire on all cylinders this season.

Forward Alan Gordon returned from offseason surgery last week, and Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop believes that he will have the services of forward Steven Lenhart for the first time this season on Saturday.

Lenhart netted 10 goals in 26 games for the 'Quakes last year, and his return, along with Gordon, will offer some much-needed help for leading scorer Chris Wondolowski, who has scored twice in five games so far this season.

San Jose has managed to claim seven points from its first five fixtures despite a rash of key injuries, which goalkeeper Jon Busch feels is due to the work of Yallop and general manager John Doyle, who have provided the club with enough depth to handle this kind of situation.

The club may be getting back another important player in Lenhart this weekend, but regulars Steven Beitashour, Mehdi Ballouchy and Marvin Chavez remain on the sidelines.